The scenic route

Got off at 5:30 pm yesterday and didn't get home until a little before 7:00 pm. A twenty-five minute trip took a little bit longer than expected. I usually head down a backroads highway (it's a straight shot from work to home). No such luck.
The road flooded.

Of course...I didn't know it until I was RIGHT ON TOP OF IT. And then two men blocking the road gave me the "turn around" signal. I wanted to give them a signal, too. But I was afraid I'd see them in town somewhere.
I ended up going about thirty-five miles out of my way just to get home. And with the price of gas the way it is...I was none too happy. In fact, I'm sure I ground my molars back a bit more. While clenching the steering wheel with white knuckles.

This rain is a complete 180 from last year. You know...112 degrees outside. Sweltering heat.
I would surely love a medium ground here. You know...somewhere between "hell on earth" and "build an ark."

Onwards and upwards.
Is it Friday yet? *laughing*

This has been the longest week, I swear. And although I appreciate the necessity of slowing down and enjoying life...the enjoyment of this week is pretty much over. Let's all move it along now.

I thought I had writing news. But I guess...not. *snickering*
I do have a short story in Summer Solstice Scorchers available now. And so I'll leave you with a bit of a blurb and excerpt.

"Conjuring Cade" by C'ann Inman
blurb:
Witchcraft in the wrong hands can be…exciting as hell.
Bliss Monroe hates her sister’s reading material. She considers it trashy and ridiculous. Until the quiz about finding the perfect man catches her eye. But Bliss doesn’t realize that her sister hexed her magazines. And every answer that Bliss marks down will change her life. In a most delightful, erotic way.

Excerpt:
Bliss picked up the magazine on the kitchen table and frowned. Her younger sister was reading that trash again. All the bullshit advice on how to find a man or how to orgasm or where to touch herself/her man/or anyone else.
Yeah, right. She snorted and started toward the trash when Harmony came rushing through the door.
“Drop it!”
Bliss narrowed her blue eyes. “Drop what?”
“My magazine.” Harmony scowled. “You know I like reading those.” She marched over and snatched the magazine from her sister’s hand. She uncrumpled it with a low growl. “Just because you don’t like reading it doesn’t mean it doesn’t serve a purpose.”
“Yeah.” Bliss walked over and picked up her cup of coffee. “Its purpose is to rope you into spending money on shit you don’t need and buying into that whole shallow world.”
Harmony rolled her dark green eyes. “And here I thought they were just trying to make some money. I didn’t realize they had such a sinister purpose.”
Bliss held out her hand, and the magazine flew over to her and landed neatly in her upturned palm. “Hmm. Let’s see.” The pages rippled for a second before they stilled. Bliss nodded. “How to Make Magic with Mortals.” She rolled her eyes. “What kind of bullshit is this?” She flipped another couple of pages. “What To Do When His Wand Won’t Work.” Bliss snickered. “And they’re not talking about the one he holds in his hands.” She chuckled. “Or maybe they are.” She started to move a couple more pages when Harmony stood with fists clenched.
“Just because you’re a total failure in the male department doesn’t mean the rest of us should have to suffer.” Harmony held out her hand, and Bliss let her will the magazine back to her. She held up her head. “I’ll look for an article about witches who turn their men gay. Okay?”
“Hey!” Bliss growled. “There were only two of them. And I had nothing to do with that!” She shrugged. “Besides. Steve and John are going to help redecorate my bedroom. Could be worse.”
Harmony stared at her. “Are you hearing yourself?”
“Yes.” Bliss studied her younger sister for a moment. “How did you know I was about to trash that, anyway?”
Harmony’s cheeks flamed, and she looked everywhere but at her older sister. “I put a little spell on it,” she muttered.
“You’re hexing your reading material now?” Bliss narrowed her eyes. “You were careful, weren’t you? We both know you’re not quite ready for your witch’s license yet.”
“Of course I was careful! I cast the spell because we both know you don’t like what I read! You think I should have my nose buried in a textbook like you did.” Harmony sighed. “But that’s not me.”
“I’ve seen your grades, sister. I know that isn’t you. That’s why when you head off to camp tomorrow, this little piece of joy will stay here with me.” The magazine floated in the air over to Bliss, and she closed her hand around it.
“You’re so unfair!” Harmony stomped her foot and glared at her older sister. Her green eyes shot sparks. “Do you even remember what it was like to be nineteen?”
“It was only a decade ago, Harmony. Not a millennia. Of course I remember.” Bliss looked at the clock. “Time for you to go to school.” She made shooing motions. “Off you go.”
Harmony scowled. “I really don’t like you.”
“I know.”
She slid her shoes on and grabbed her backpack. “Really, really don’t like you.”
“I’m aware of it.”
Harmony’s mouth flattened into a tight line. “Tyrant.”
“Have a good day at school.” Bliss opened the door, and Harmony stomped out loudly and down the street. Bliss closed the door with a sigh. Was I that strong-willed when I was nineteen? She’d have to ask her parents next time they were in town. But somehow, she doubted it.
Bliss brought her hand up and studied the offending piece of material in it. What did Harmony find so interesting in here? She walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the butcher-block table. She turned to the Table of Contents and studied the articles. Fashions for the forward-thinking witch? How to brew up an evening he wouldn’t forget?
Bliss took a sip of coffee and then promptly covered her mouth before she spit the liquid back out. Conjuring the Perfect Man. She blinked twice and studied the title again. Surely, they weren’t suggesting actually conjuring one, were they? And what did her nineteen year old sister need with a man? Bliss scowled. Not a damn thing.
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© C'ann Inman 2007